Google dropkicks search

👋 Hello and huge welcome to Claire, Jenny, Efe, Michelle, and Eme. Glad to have you here. Hit reply and let me know what you're up to and how we can help.

AI mode and the end of web traffic? Hold on now...

Last week Google announced that it was moving to a full "AI mode" search soon. As of now the default search gives you AI Overview results sourced from a handful of different locales - likely places like Reddit and YouTube which are known for explanatory content. And one, maybe two, websites that are finely tuned and trusted to for the search question.

The other piece of this is that the search interface is built to keep you on Google. It invites you to ask for more info right there. Drew Magary had a good piece in SF Gate this week titled Google Hates You that explains why this sucks for news organizations, writers, or anyone whose work is built on pageviews.

Nonprofit organizations are a category of groups for whom this sucks. There's already been plenty of writing about AEO / GEO for the sector. I added to the clutter a few months back with a piece explaining why good to great content strategy should ALWAYS be a focus for nonprofits. And how good, value-added content matters now more than ever.

Content that people can trust and come to rely upon is, along with owned distribution channels, your insurance against Google, Open AI, Anthropic, Meta and others. The content platform companies exist to use your content and work as the basis for their closed user experience. Each wants to establish themselves as THE Internet. Why leave Google when it can answer all your questions? People who wonder why they're killing their search ad revenue model are missing the potential revenue that comes from owning every layer of the search and commerce experience.

The platforms will all throw nonprofits (and news organizations) some bones but they have no interest in driving traffic away from their sites to yours (they never did, to be honest) or supporting your efforts to connect with people, raise money, and organize.

The odds seem stacked against nonprofits seeking to grow their presence and impact using digital channels. But community and social good organizations should have something that few for profit groups have: relevance, trust, impact, and the ability to speak directly with members and supporters. Build on those values. And stop trying to buy scale on platforms whose business interests aren't influenced by your values.

How nonprofit communicators and content creators navigate these changes (and press oblivious org leadership among other challenges to valuable content strategy) is one of the things we talk about at Newsletter Nerd Club.

You can join the next one on June 3rd here. I hope you'll sign up and stop by.

Bright Ideas

• Jobseekers: Summer Delaney of CollabWork shared great notes from a recent talk she gave on the current state of hiring. Mostly it comes down to jobseekers need communities of support (for the long haul, not just the search phase) and hiring managers exist in communities and networks.
• In I Joined OnlyFans To Fight The Climate Crisis – And My DMs Went Wild, Jessica Riches tells the story of learning how communities of interest are out there waiting to be found. They just need to be engaged. This is the story of working with Yellow Dot Studios, the nonprofit set up by Adam McKay. Together, to create Headline Newds, a comedy porn series made for OnlyFans. Fascinating, wild, and some words may offend. Via Tory Stephens at Grist.
• How newsrooms can strengthen information ecosystems by enabling community news roles by Megan Lucero [Journalism + Design Lab]
• Writers and content creators are told that AI is great for the beginning and end of the work - the brainstorming and the cleanup. I hear "AI is great for brainstorming" all the time on LinkedIn and in nonprofit circles. I'm not going to say that's total bullshit but your brain is far more clever than ChatGPT. IN What 370,000 college essays tell us about AI's effects on creativity, Rebecca Winthrop shows how AI is flattening human experience, starting with storytelling.

The erosion of creative thinking means young people will struggle to navigate uncertainty. Workers will strain to adapt to a shifting labor market. And society will miss out on the new ideas that can solve complex problems and enhance lives.
– Rebecca Winthrop, The New York Times

• Meanwhile, the AI in Design Report is a thorough look at how pervasive AI products and tools are in the design world. Design here seems to mean mostly product and tech. We can expect every app and website to even look more bland and similar in the future.
• Great resource for communicators: Climate Communications to Drive Collective Action by Shannon Brescher Shea.

Events and Learning

• Radical Possibility: How Climate Fiction Can Create Better Futures hosted by Tory Stephens, founder of Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors in partnership with the ASU Center for Science and the Imagination. [Wednesday, June 10 at 11 am Eastern]

Future Community Jobs

These are the most recent jobs we've shared. The full Future Community job list is always on and always fresh.

Audience, content, journalism and news roles

• Reporter : Ouray County Plaindealer [Ridgway, CO]
• Event Manager : The Atlantic [Washington, DC]
• Associate Director, Events and Senior Director, Events Audience Strategy & Engagement : The Atlantic [New York City]
• Membership and Marketing Manager : RANGE Media [Spokane] ⏱️ June 12
• Managing Editor : In Development [Remote] ⏱️ June 15
• Senior Director - Information Technology & Digital Security : The Committee to Protect Journalists [New York City / Remote in the US / Remote in Western European time zones] ⏱️ June 12
• Senior Editor : Index on Censorship [Remote] ⏱️ June 12
• Editor : L.A. Material [Los Angeles] ⏱️ June 12

Communications

• Editorial Manager : Legal Defense & Educational Fund [New York] ⏱️ June 12
• Director of Executive Digital Communications : Reproductive Freedom for All [Washington, DC]
• Coordinator, Marketing and Communications : Greentown Labs [Somerville, MA]
• Director of Strategic Communications : Policing Project at New York University School of Law [New York City]
• Senior Digital Communications Manager : Climate Catalyst [Remote in Europe or Asia]
• Digital Communication Manager : Justice Democrats [Multiple States in the US] ⏱️ June 12
• Creative Content Strategist : Advancement Project [Washington, DC] ⏱️ June 8
• Director, Oceans Communication : World Wildlife Fund [Washington, DC]
• Director of Policy Communications : Enterprise [Washington, DC]

Nonprofit organizations

• Senior Democracy Analyst : Rethink Priorities [Remote in the US] ⏱️ June 7
• Program Associate, International Partners : Aspen Institute [Washington, DC]
• Community Engagement Manager : Indigenous Climate Action [Remote in Canada] ⏱️ June 7
• Executive Director : Center for Constitutional Rights [New York City] ⏱️ August 3
• Chief of Staff or Interim Chief of Staff : Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press [Washington, DC]
• Manager, Public Policy and Stakeholder Engagement : Partnership for Public Service [Washington, DC]
• Tech for Good Project Fellow : Tech Matters [Remote, Global] ⏱️ June 12
• Campaigns Associate : Center for American Progress [Washington, D.C]
• Michigan State Lead - Lobbyist and Strategist : Climate Cabinet [Remote in Michigan] ⏱️ May 29
• Western Regional Director : The Young People’s Alliance [Bay Area or Sacramento] ⏱️ June 12

Fundraising and Development

• Grants Manager : The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association [Unity, Maine] ⏱️ June 16
• Corporate Development Associate : American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) [Washington, DC]
• Senior Manager, Donor Relations : Nia Tero [Remote in the US Seattle preferred] ⏱️ June 12

Foundations and Philanthropy

• Growth & Marketing Lead : The National Fund for Women (NFW) [Washington, DC or Remote in the US] ⏱️ June 15
• Program Officer : Philanthropy Northwest [Remote in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon or Washington] ⏱️ June 18
• Rising Leaders for Results Fellowship : Annie E. Casey Foundation [Flexible] ⏱️ July 6

Agencies, data, politics, products & more

• Director, Native Strategy : NeighborWorks [Washington, DC] ⏱️ June 5
• Manager, Community Building and Engagement : NeighborWorks [Kansas City / New York City / Washington, DC] ⏱️ June 5
• Manager, Community Relations – Renewable Power : Community Power Ventures [Boston]

Hey. Ted here. I run Bright+3 where we give changemakers the ideas, inspiration, and tools to create content that builds stronger communities.

I also write this newsletter (aka Future Community) and run the Future Community Jobs list.

RIP Sonny...

A bit lost in the news this week is the passing of jazz legend Sonny Rollins. I'm not going to convince anyone that I'm a huge jazz guy but digging into the stacks is one of the most useful things about streaming platforms like Spotify. Sonny was 95 years old and still making music. Enjoy his song I'm an Old Cowhand from the 1957 album Way Out West. Sonny is on the tenor sax. Ray Brown plays bass and Shelly Manne is on drums. Both are legends in their own right.